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Stories from SlateAll 60 Oscar-Nominated Films, Rankedhttp://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/02/all_60_films_nominated_for_oscars_ranked.html
<p>Remember the part in <em>Interstellar</em> (five Oscar nominations, but not Best Picture) when Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway and the trusty robot CASE head off to the planet with the big wave, and they leave David Gyasi back on the ship for a relativity-aided 20-plus years in solitude? When they get back and he’s a little grayer in the beard, they ask him what he did, and among other specific research stuff, he basically says he read a lot. When I saw that, I thought, <em>What an idiot</em>—<em>why didn’t he watch movies?</em></p>
<p>I like to watch movies. I like to talk about movies. When other people are talking about movies I haven’t seen, I get jealous. So I see a lot of movies, I make lists of older movies I should catch up on, I do projects. The Academy Award nominations make for great projects, ones that lots of people undertake. Dabblers will try to watch all the Best Picture nominees. Some will go next-level and try to knock out all the nominated actors. Two years ago I made a grander, more quixotic decision: I was going to see every single nominated movie. The documentaries, the shorts, the foreign films, the terrible action movie nominated for Best Sound Mixing. Everything.</p>
<p>How’d I pull it off? Living in New York (and in the time of Internet) (and with access to publicists who sometimes send out screeners, just to be upfront about screener privilege, because it’s real) has afforded me options I never had before. But it’s still not easy. A quick tally the day the Oscar nominations were announced revealed that, despite having spent the year attending critics’ screenings and one major film festival, I still needed to see nine features, plus 14 of the 15 nominated shorts. Immediately after work that day, I bought a ticket for <em>The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies</em>, because if I didn’t then, I maybe never would.</p>
<p>Much as I complain about slogs like <em>The Hobbit</em>, I keep trying to see all the nominated movies because it’s incredibly good for me. It reminds me that, much as we complain (and I sure do) about who does and doesn’t get nominated, especially in the major categories, if we look at the Oscar slate as a flat list of films—regardless of category or number of nominations—it really is a rather interesting cross section of the movie year. There still aren’t enough indies, or American films by (and about) people of color, but incorporating the foreign films, docs, shorts, the blockbusters nominated in the technical categories—it’s all a rather interesting jumble, for good and for ill.</p>
<p>And watching all 60 films nominated for Oscars this year has reminded me that the films nominated for Best Picture are <em>so</em> not the whole story. The riskier, more daring, more idiosyncratic movies often can only eke out a nomination or two. It made me want to see a ranked list of every nominated movie made by one intrepid filmgoer who’d seen them all. And so here it is.</p>
<p><strong>60.&nbsp;<em>The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Here are the nomination totals, in order, for Peter Jackson’s five previous J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations: 13, six, 11, three, and three. And now it all ends with one sad nomination for what is easily the worst of the six films. By Elbereth and L&uacute;thien the Fair, let this be the end.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Sound Editing</p>
<p><strong>59.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ST1OBS4/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>The Judge</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Because the acting categories allow voters to separate their love for the actors from the films they represent, it can be easy to sneak some real stinkers into the ranks of Oscar-nominated films. Like, can you believe that thanks to Stanley Tucci, <em>The Lovely Bones </em>was an Oscar nominee? Or Patricia Clarkson for <em>Pieces of April</em>? Or Bette Midler for <em>For the Boys</em>? (What am I saying? Of course you remember <em>For the Boys</em>.) Anyway, that’s certainly what has happened here with a nomination for beloved Robert Duvall in the truly terrible&nbsp;<em>The Judge</em>.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Supporting Actor</p>
<p><strong>58.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7PBD2C/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Maleficent</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;There’s maybe something to be said about the inherent sexism that sees a femalecentric blockbuster merely recognized for its pretty costumes rather than its, say, special effects. It’d be easier to get behind such an argument on <em>Maleficent</em>’s behalf if it weren’t such a tonally incoherent mess. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Costume Design</p>
<p><strong>57.&nbsp;<em>Unbroken</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Not trying to pick on Angelina Jolie! Honest! But&nbsp;<em>Unbroken</em>&nbsp;is an unambiguous miss, no matter how you look at it. Of course, sometimes when unambiguous misses are also solid box office performers from major studios with big battle sequences, you get some consolation nods anyway.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing</p>
<p><strong>56.&nbsp;<em>American Sniper</em>:&nbsp;</strong>And so we arrive at our lowest-ranking Best Picture nominee. It’s tempting to graft&nbsp;<em>American Sniper</em>’s Oscar narrative to its phenomenal box office success, but the truth is its six nominations came before the film blew up in theaters. More likely it’s this: Oscar voters are not willing to let go of Clint Eastwood. <strong>Nominations: </strong>Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing</p>
<p><strong>55.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PRX8UBG/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Whiplash</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;Despite my low opinion of the movie itself, I actually think it’s worthy of a good half of its nominations, particularly the propulsive editing and the J.K. Simmons performance, both of which were so spectacular they almost covered up the puffed-up, preposterous story.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing</p>
<p><strong>54.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R2LU906/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Foxcatcher</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;Never underestimate the power of a facial prosthetic. Nor of Bennett Miller, Hollywood’s new Stephen Daldry.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling</p>
<p><strong>53.&nbsp;<em>The Theory of Everything</em>:&nbsp;</strong>I sometimes think the Oscars get a bad rap: Moviegoers complain that the academy rewards stiff biographies, costume dramas, and “important” issue movies to the exclusion of everything else. But aren’t the last few years, with their <em>Django Unchained</em>s and <em>Black Swan</em>s and <em>Toy Story</em>s, enough to give academy members credit for broadening their horizons ever so slightly? And then they go and nominate something like <em>The Theory of Everything</em>.<strong> Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score</p>
<p><strong>52.&nbsp;<em>The Imitation Game</em>:&nbsp;</strong>For a while there, people really thought Harvey Weinstein was going to be able to muscle this one to a Best Picture win, through his usual mix of chutzpah and blunt-force marketing. Better luck (with a better film?) next year. <strong>Nominations: </strong>Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Original Score</p>
<p><strong>51.&nbsp;<em>The Reaper (La Parka)</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Viewers can usually boil down each of the documentary short contenders to one issue. In this case, that issue is cattle slaughter, which the film shows us in confrontationally close detail. It’s really off-putting! Intentionally so! <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Short</p>
<p><strong>50.&nbsp;<em>White Earth</em>:</strong>&nbsp;If you’re looking to dispel the notion that Oscar-nominated documentary shorts are all sad looks at bleak lives told through a filter of bittersweet perseverance,&nbsp;<em>White Earth</em>&nbsp;is maybe not the short for you.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Short</p>
<p><strong>49.&nbsp;<em>Aya</em>:&nbsp;</strong>A case of mistaken identity at an airport brings together a man and a woman for a moody drive to Tel Aviv, Israel. The charm of many short films is their unpredictability, which meant I kept expecting this movie to become something darker, or stranger. But nope, it didn’t. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Live-Action Short</p>
<p><strong>48.&nbsp;<em>Inherent Vice</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Paul Thomas Anderson’s stoned, silly, indulgent adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel would probably have fallen apart in another director’s hands. At times it falls apart in his. But when Anderson writes a screenplay, the academy often nominates it: This is his fourth nod in seven films.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design</p>
<p><strong>47.&nbsp;<em>The Salt of the Earth</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Director Wim Wenders delivers a handsome but surface-level exploration of the life and work of photographer&nbsp;Sebasti&atilde;o Salgado. His whole career, Wenders has never been afraid to risk sounding pretentious. Risk it he does! <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<p><strong>46.&nbsp;<em>Parvaneh</em>:&nbsp;</strong>The story of a young Afghan woman seeking asylum in Switzerland. A sweet, generous film that doesn’t make a very big impact, relative to its competition.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Live-Action Short</p>
<p><strong>45.&nbsp;<em>Feast</em>:</strong>&nbsp;You may have seen this animated short about an adorable puppy and its finicky appetite if you saw&nbsp;<em>Big Hero 6</em>&nbsp;in theaters. It’s typical of the recent Disney style of animated shorts: cute, wordless, funny but mostly heartwarming. The gorgeous animation has the comforting feel of the feature films we’re used to. It’s just not very adventurous.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Short</p>
<p><strong>44.&nbsp;<em>Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me</em>:&nbsp;</strong>After last year’s big surprise in the Best Song category with&nbsp;<em>Alone Yet Not Alone</em>&nbsp;(<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/01/30/alone_yet_not_alone_is_disqualified_from_the_oscar_best_original_song_category.html">ultimately disqualified</a> for campaign shenanigans), Oscar watchers were somewhat prepared for another out-of-nowhere selection, and this time they got it in a tiny little documentary about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SADWY0S/?tag=slatmaga-20">country music legend Campbell</a> and his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Original Song</p>
<p><strong>43.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RW0QQJ0/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Nightcrawler</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Like&nbsp;<em>Inside Llewyn Davis</em>&nbsp;last year,&nbsp;<em>Nightcrawler</em>&nbsp;was the movie a lot of critics talked themselves into thinking would be nominated for a bunch of awards—but that ended up nominated for very few. Perhaps it finished just off the ballot in categories like Best Picture and Best Actor. Or perhaps voters never warmed to its broad-strokes aesthetic and somewhat pedestrian observations that the media is, like, crazy and depraved, man.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Original Screenplay</p>
<p><strong>42.&nbsp;<em>A Single Life</em>:</strong>&nbsp;The elasticity of styles that can be found among the animated shorts every year makes it one of my favorite categories. With&nbsp;<em>A Single Life</em>, you get a cute little story about a woman who finds she can advance her life forward and backward with the needle on a record player. The entire film is two and a half minutes long. <strong>Nomination:</strong> Best Animated Short</p>
<p><strong>41.&nbsp;<em>Into the Woods</em>:</strong>&nbsp;There’s a lot to love and a lot to feel let down by in Rob Marshall’s Sondheim adaptation. Judging by Marshall’s own Oscar-nominated standards, it’s better than the snoozy&nbsp;<em>Nine</em>&nbsp;but not as good as the Best Picture behemoth <em>Chicago.</em> Lower middle of the pack seems about right. <strong>Nominations: </strong>Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design</p>
<p><strong>40.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LP9G64O/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>The Visual Effects winning streak of films featuring Andy Serkis’ motion-capture theatrics—two <em>Lord of the Rings</em> movies, plus <em>King Kong</em>—was snapped when <em>Hugo</em> defeated <em>Rise of the Planet of the Apes</em>. Until the academy figures out how to deal with motion-capture performances in the acting categories, it seems only fair to reward superior work like Serkis delivers in <em>Dawn </em>with a Visual Effects Oscar. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Visual Effects</p>
<p><strong>39.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OH74BXY/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>X-Men: Days of Future Past</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;Did you know that this is the first movie in the X-Men franchise to get any Oscar nomination in any category? Doesn’t that seem kind of nuts? No makeup nominations for Mystique’s blue body paint. No visual effects nods for Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge. No Best Picture nomination for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I9U8VO/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>X2</em></a>. (Yes, it deserved one.) Guess all it took was Evan Peters racing around a lab listening to Jim Croce to grab voters’ attention.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Visual Effects</p>
<p><strong>38.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHSCEFO/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>The Tale of the Princess Kaguya</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>In a typical year, the Animated Feature lineup contains a Pixar slot, a Disney slot, and a Dreamworks slot. Looks like now there’s a slot for Studio Ghibli, which has nabbed nominations for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MHT49TK/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>The Wind Rises&nbsp;</em></a>and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CDGVOE/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Howl’s Moving Castle</em></a>, not to mention a win for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JLEU/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Spirited Away</em></a>. Isao Takahata’s first film in 14 years is undeniably beautiful, like a watercolor come to life, but at the risk of heresy ... it kind of drags.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Feature</p>
<p><strong>37.&nbsp;<em>Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1</em>:</strong>&nbsp;In a year with a few options in Documentary Short that don’t hew to tradition,&nbsp;<em>Crisis Hotline</em>&nbsp;feels very familiar. Which isn’t to say it’s bad. It’s a day in the life of the United States’ only suicide-prevention hotline for military veterans, and it’s told with sensitivity and a curiosity for the work that its subjects do. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Short</p>
<p><strong>36.&nbsp;<em>The Phone Call</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Every once in a while, you get a short film with some star power. So it is here, as former Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (plus the voice of Oscar winner Jim Broadbent) lend their talents to this story of a crisis hotline worker and a call that really shakes her up. The familiarity of an actress like Hawkins is a huge boon to a movie that is really just one extended phone conversation, though a “name” actress can sometimes feel like an unfair advantage in the shorts categories. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Live-Action Short</p>
<p><strong>35.&nbsp;<em>Wild Tales</em>:&nbsp;</strong>If&nbsp;<em>Wild Tales</em>&nbsp;had been an English-language movie, there’s no way it would even get close to an Oscar nomination. This series of vignettes—most of them darkly comedic, most of them circling a theme of vengeance—plays like lesser Tarantino and would probably be brushed off as a popcorn movie and nothing more. But in a Foreign Language Film race where so many entries are solemn, thoughtful, slow affairs,&nbsp;<em>Wild Tales</em> plays like a hugely refreshing change of pace. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Foreign Language Film</p>
<p><strong>34.&nbsp;<em>The Dam Keeper</em>:&nbsp;</strong>The most painterly of all the animated films this year, this follows a cute little pig as he serves as the protector his village. Except for some opening narration, there’s not any dialogue, which gives the melancholy little tale an added layer of poignancy. Maybe I’ve seen too many of these kinda-sad, kinda-pretty animated shorts, but my enthusiasm was muted.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Short</p>
<p><strong>33.&nbsp;<em>Tangerines</em>:&nbsp;</strong>This is Estonia’s nomination in the Foreign Film category, though the film takes place in Georgia, where, we are told, Estonians emigrated once, only to return to their native land when armed conflicts began&nbsp;besieging&nbsp;the former Soviet republics.&nbsp;<em>Tangerines</em>&nbsp;is an interesting blend of new trends in the Foreign Film category (toward tougher, bleaker films) and old ones (it wraps itself in a poetic ending that is maybe a little pat).&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Foreign Language Film</p>
<p><strong>32.&nbsp;<em>Butter Lamp</em>:&nbsp;</strong>It takes a while to get used to what’s going on in&nbsp;<em>Butter Lamp</em>, which depicts a photographer setting up group shots of Tibetans in front of various backgrounds. The poignancy, humor, and thoughtfulness of the setups (the Great Wall, Disney World) add up to something more like a conceptual art project, reminiscent of the far heavier&nbsp;<em>The Missing Picture</em>, nominated in Foreign Language Film last year.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Live-Action Short</p>
<p><strong>31.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JB3O6H0/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>The Grand Budapest Hotel</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>As a longtime Wes Anderson fan, not to mention a longtime Oscars fan, I find myself puzzled that his greatest Oscar success by <em>far</em> is coming for my least favorite Wes Anderson film. And it’s not that I can’t see the artistry on display; the film’s art direction and nesting-doll narrative beautifully depict an old world that no longer exists, and probably never existed the way we thought. But the dialogue feels sloppy, the tone is nastier than I want from a Wes Anderson movie, and the casting, for the first time (and this is saying something), felt indulgent. I’m happy to be an outlier here, and the sight of Wes Anderson holding an Oscar will warm my heart; I’ll just imagine it’s for&nbsp;<em>The Royal Tenenbaums</em> instead. <strong>Nominations: </strong>Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Makeup and Hairstyling</p>
<p><strong>30.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SSFY2DU/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Beyond the Lights</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;Another movie whose success I applaud even as I wish I’d have been able to connect to it better. I loved everything about Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s performance as a Rihanna-esque pop star trying to survive the trappings of her fame; loved Minnie Driver as the stage mom; was incredibly impressed by the attention to detail. The romance at the center was clumsier than it should have been, leaning heavily on the chemistry of Mbatha-Raw and Nate Parker to compensate for some cringey dialogue and ill-advised subplots about local politics. But I dearly wish the film had garnered the huge audience it deserved, because movies like this and filmmakers like Gina Prince-Bythewood are essential.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Original Song</p>
<p><strong>29.&nbsp;<em>Leviathan</em>:&nbsp;</strong>The big story here is that a movie this critical of the Russian establishment—the way government corruption filters down to destroy the lives of ordinary, good families—was selected to be Russia’s official foreign submission to the Oscars. The film itself certainly makes an impression, with its whale-skeleton metaphor about how the cross-contamination of government and business is too big a monster to fight. I’m pretty sure I got it.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Foreign Language Film</p>
<p><strong>28.&nbsp;<em>Boogaloo and Graham</em>:&nbsp;</strong>There’s a kind of guilty bashfulness that I feel when I end up liking a film featuring cute kids. Like I just got taken in by a very simple confidence scheme. <em>Boogaloo </em>is a sweet tale of a pair of brothers in Northern Ireland whose father gifts them with a pair of baby chickens to raise. Cute kids <em>and </em>baby chickens and I <em>still </em>liked it! Yes, I&nbsp;<em>would</em>&nbsp;like to guess which card is the ace of spades. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Live-Action Short</p>
<p><strong>27.&nbsp;<em>Song of the Sea</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Back in 2009, everyone was shocked by a nomination for director Tomm Moore’s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042840G6/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>The Secret of Kells</em></a>, but after a few years of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Animated_Feature#2010s">cats in Paris and Ernests and Chicos</a>, we pretty much expect one or two animated films from outside the mainstream to get nominated. <em>Song of the Sea</em>&nbsp;is a rather lovely one.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Feature</p>
<p><strong>26.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MB6IYHW/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Over the summer, when&nbsp;<em>Guardians</em>&nbsp;was tearing up the box office and sending audiences fluttering up to the heavens on little Groot leaves, there was <a href="http://screencrush.com/trophy-talk-10-best-picture-nominees/">a lot of talk</a> about whether the film might end up being a Best Picture contender, and what it might mean for Hollywood and the awards process if it didn’t. Thankfully, like all big talk about giving Oscars to summer blockbusters, it died down after August. This charming, slight, silly adventure wouldn’t hold up all that well to the scrutiny the biggest Oscar nomination would bring. Then again, look at all those Best Picture nominees waaaaaay behind&nbsp;<em>Guardians</em>&nbsp;on this list.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Hairstyling</p>
<p><strong>25.&nbsp;<em>Two Days, One Night</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have never once been nominated for a Foreign Film Oscar. Not even this year. But through a clever bit of noncampaigning (every time Marion Cotillard didn’t show up at a precursor event, some critic would write about what a shame it was she was being passed over), their film managed to snag a mention in one of the big four categories. That’s not bad. Hopefully it leads to more people seeing this quiet, powerful movie about a woman going door to door in her community to try and save her job.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Actress</p>
<p><strong>24.&nbsp;<em>Virunga</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Two flavors of advocacy documentary collide in this one, part a plea to help safeguard a preserve for the last known mountain gorillas on Earth, part an expos&eacute; on the military conflicts in the Congo. That neither one of those stories feels short-changed, nor do they feel jarring side by side, is a credit to director Orlando von Einsiedel.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<p><strong>23.&nbsp;<em>Our Curse</em>:&nbsp;</strong>I’d love to be able to go into detail about this short film, a look at a pair of new parents whose child suffers a rare condition that requires a ventilator every night or else he will stop breathing and die, but if I think about it for too long, I’m just going to start sobbing again. The miserablism of the doc shorts is sometimes made fun of; there are years where the list reads like “cancer, Holocaust, suicide, euthanasia, Holocaust again.” This year’s nominees could certainly fill out a similar checklist. But this heartbreaker of a film is a reminder that reducing these films to their subject matter is a great way to miss out on some intimate, disarming filmmaking. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Short&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>22.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1Q4GGE/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Ida</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Many years,<strong> </strong>a foreign film is so acclaimed that it manages to get some spillover attention in the other categories. And while Ida’s black-and-white cinematography was lovely, I wish this film had followed in <em>Amour</em>’s footsteps and garnered a Best Actress nomination for either of its leading ladies, Agata Kulesza and Agata Trzebuchowska. It’s their performances—one all sheltered curiosity, the other boozy, weary, and wise—that make this film special. <strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography</p>
<p><strong>21.&nbsp;<em>Still Alice</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Throughout awards season, this movie has been treated solely as a Julianne Moore vehicle. A car service, in particular. One that picks her up from the airport and drives her directly to the Best Actress Oscar she so richly deserves. But it’s too bad the rest of the movie couldn’t get a little love, for its smart and sensitive storytelling, or for its great supporting performances from Kristen Stewart and Alec Baldwin. Moore still towers over the film, but it’s a shame that the academy couldn’t look beyond her.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Actress</p>
<p><strong>20.&nbsp;<em>Me and My Moulton</em>:&nbsp;</strong>The thoroughly charming&nbsp;<em>Me and My Moulton</em>, about a young Norwegian girl trying to deal with the awkwardness of having nonconformist parents,&nbsp;looks like a storybook come to life.&nbsp;The widely varying storytelling and animation styles in the five nominees in this category are why I’ll never complain about the Oscar ceremony’s little categories that, supposedly, nobody cares about. As long as the Oscars keep giving this modicum of attention to shorts, and it gets a handful of people into theaters where they’re showing them during Oscar month, then it’s worth it.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Short</p>
<p><strong>19.</strong>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYKNHME/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>How to Train Your Dragon 2</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;The first&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049UQF3I/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>How to Train Your Dragon</em></a>&nbsp;was a wonderful, remarkable film that would have won the Best Animated Feature Oscar if it hadn’t been up against&nbsp;<em>Toy Story 3</em>. (Some of us might say it<em> </em>should have won anyway.) The sequel isn’t as magical as the original, but it’s a hugely likeable, exciting follow-up, and if it ends up winning this year, it’ll be among the more worthy makeup Oscars in a while.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Feature</p>
<p><strong>18.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9DAOLK/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Last Days in Vietnam</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>The most traditional of the documentary nominees, both in subject matter and in structure,&nbsp;<em>Last Days in Vietnam&nbsp;</em>is nevertheless eye-opening in its exploration of the fall of Saigon, never straying from its central question: Did we do enough to get everybody out? The arc of film history appears to be bending toward less traditional docs—this is why <em>Citizenfour</em> has gotten the most attention of this year’s nominees. Thus far, the <em>Exit Through the Gift Shop</em>s and <em>Act of Killing</em>s have been merely barking at the door. This is the first year it feels like traditional docs like <em>Last Days</em> won’t be able to hold them off. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<p><strong>17.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S65TBHY/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Gone Girl</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>How on earth did<strong> </strong><em>Gone Girl</em>&nbsp;end up with only one nomination? A legitimate blockbuster, directed by a multiple Oscar nominee, starring a leading man so beloved by the academy that they dedicated the 2012 Oscars to apologizing for only nominating him once. Did the potboiler nature of Gillian Flynn’s source material really keep voters away? The divisiveness of the “is it good for women?” debate? I honestly don’t know what went wrong here.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Actress</p>
<p><strong>16.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PC1X70W/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Big Hero 6</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Sure, it’s predictable. But it’s also undeniably one of the most exuberant, inventive, genuinely heartfelt movies of the year.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Feature</p>
<p><strong>15.&nbsp;<em>Interstellar</em>:&nbsp;</strong>That nobody is clamoring about the injustice of Christopher Nolan being left out of the top categories suggests that he’s fallen off from his&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OGWY1W/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Dark Knight</em></a><em>&nbsp;</em>heights—or else we’ve all just gotten used to the fact that Oscar voters view his movies as less than the sum of their parts. It’s a shame—we need directors with oversized ambitions.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing</p>
<p><strong>14.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLHJSUO/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Finding Vivian Maier</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>For an unassuming documentary about an uncovered trove of photos from a lost photographer, this film is unexpectedly fascinating. And far from finding director John Maloof’s presence in Maier’s narrative <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/01/16/finding_vivian_maier_nominated_for_best_documentary_it_was_one_of_the_worst.html">irksome</a>, I thought it added to the feeling that the audience was actively taking part in unearthing her secrets. Suddenly, we’re complicit in the act of exposing an artist’s work, perhaps against her wishes. It feels daring.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<p><strong>13.&nbsp;<em>Captain America: The Winter Soldier</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Sorry, I know I’m supposed to see the Marvel movies as representative of the downfall of the cinema. But I’m unwilling to demonize movies this dedicated to bringing an ambitious, multilimbed storytelling experiment to mass audiences. Popcorn blockbusters have generally been treated by the Oscars as disposable platforms for effects innovations; it’s tough to suddenly start looking at megamovies for their invigorating storytelling when you never have before. But I think <em>Winter Soldier</em> deserves that.<strong>&nbsp;Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Visual Effects</p>
<p><strong>12.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PLG8LFY/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Birdman</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Every time I think about&nbsp;<em>Birdman</em>, I get annoyed. I get annoyed by Alejandro&nbsp;Gonz&aacute;lez I&ntilde;&aacute;rritu’s self-aggrandizement, his operatic wailings on the behalf of genius artists besieged by critics. I get annoyed by the fact that <em>Birdman </em>purports to be about the theater but is only interested in making points about the movie business. I get annoyed by the subtitle. And I get annoyed that a movie that is actually saying half of what it thinks it’s saying about art may well win Best Picture. But in my annoyance I often forget that this is a dazzling film to look at and experience; that it’s an odd and darkly comedic movie, two attributes I prize in films and that Oscar voters usually scorn; that it’s exquisitely shot and acted by a talented ensemble; that <em>Birdman</em> could end up inspiring other projects that I end up liking a lot more. I’ll still be annoyed if it wins Best Picture.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing</p>
<p><strong>11.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IDI7WP2/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>The Lego Movie</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Can we now start wondering what kind of a problem animators have with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller? Not only was this movie shut out of the Animated Feature category, but the&nbsp;<em>Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</em>&nbsp;movies have been too, despite their popularity (and greatness). At least the film’s standout element, that insidiously catchy “Everything Is Awesome,” got the recognition it deserved. <strong>Nomination:</strong> Best Original Song</p>
<p><strong>10.&nbsp;<em>Timbuktu</em> </strong>My favorite of the foreign-language nominees this year comes from Mauritania, a first-time nominee in this category. It’s been heartening to watch the category expand over the last decade or so, branching out from the usual haunts of France, Italy, and Sweden to cover a more comprehensive vision of foreign film. <em>Timbuktu</em> couldn’t be more vital, telling a story about an <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/02/oscar_nominated_film_timbuktu_and_its_treatment_of_terrorism.html">Islamist takeover in West Africa</a>. That it tells such a story without extravagance and with a careful focus on its characters makes it worthy of winning, though it probably won’t. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Foreign Language Film</p>
<p><strong>9.&nbsp;<em>Joanna</em>:&nbsp;</strong>Of the two utterly devastating Polish documentary shorts about adorable families suffering the capricious whims of an impassive God, I prefer this one. <em>Joanna </em>is slightly less crushing than&nbsp;<em>Our Curse</em>, in part because its camera acts as unobtrusively as in any documentary I can recall. There’s no acknowledgement of a film being made here, so the film captures some incredibly intimate, unguarded moments from its subjects, a family coping with terminal cancer. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Short</p>
<p><strong>8.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2UZ298/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Begin Again</em></strong></a><strong>:&nbsp;</strong>Writer/director John Carney’s follow-up to&nbsp;<em>Once</em>&nbsp;didn’t receive the acclaim that its predecessor did, though it ended up getting the exact same Oscar nomination. (“Lost Stars” probably won’t win like “Falling Slowly” did.) I spent much of this film marveling that I wasn’t more irritated by this story of a down-and-out music producer (Mark Ruffalo) who discovers a sad singer-songwriter (Keira Knightley) in a bar and decides to produce her record. But the film walks a difficult tightrope between sentimentality and a kind of process story about making music off the grid, and in the balance it finds an unvarnished sweetness. Also amazing: The nominated song sounds so great, despite being performed by Adam Levine. <strong>Nomination: </strong>Best Original Song</p>
<p><strong>7.&nbsp;<em>The Bigger Picture</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Often, the Best Animated Short category can be a kind of exhibition for innovative, uncommercial animation techniques. Sometimes the shorts can tell the kinds of stories that would be rare to see in an animated feature. With&nbsp;<em>The Bigger Picture</em>, both are true: The mix of painting and stop-motion allows the story of an aging mother and her two adult sons to unfold impressionistically. It’s both devastating and groundbreaking, and it’ll be a real shame if Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees don’t get called up to the podium for it.&nbsp;<strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Animated Short</p>
<p><strong>6.&nbsp;<em>Mr. Turner</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Other than the miraculous year of <em>Secrets &amp; Lies</em>, Mike Leigh’s films never end up with the most nominations—but they are almost always among the best films in any given Oscar class. And so on the heels of<em> </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I960LYW/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Vera Drake</em>&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BP4VWRU/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Happy-Go-Lucky</em></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050BEM1M/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Another Year</em></a>&nbsp;comes&nbsp;<em>Mr. Turner</em>, a modest but unfailingly gorgeous portrait of the latter years of painter J.M.W. Turner. And while neither Leigh nor Timothy Spall, as Turner, was recognized specifically, the academy had the good taste to spotlight Dick Pope’s stunning, painterly cinematography, which (after we’ve all had <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/01/15/dick_poop_mispronunciation_of_dick_pope_from_academy_president_cheryl_boone.html">our good-natured chuckle</a> at Cheryl Boone Isaac’s nomination-morning blooper) will be the film’s enduring Oscar legacy.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design</p>
<p><strong>5.&nbsp;<em>Citizenfour</em>:</strong>&nbsp;It’s more than just the journalistic coup of getting access to Edward Snowden as he blows the whistle on the NSA that makes Laura Poitras’ film so fascinating. Poitras’ no-frills, in-the-trenches approach to filming was absolutely the right choice, as it put on display how the choices that were made in the moment—by Snowden, by Glenn Greenwald, by Poitras herself—would have vast ramifications. This is history being made, and the film knows it—and lives up to the moment. <strong>Nomination:&nbsp;</strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<p><strong>4.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QHME0J2/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>The Boxtrolls</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;It’s a puzzle why this third film from Laika animation studios (after&nbsp;<em>Coraline</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Paranorman</em>) has been its least well-received. Not only is it the best in the Animated Feature category, but I’d place it on my Best Picture ballot too. The animation, a mix of traditional stop-motion and digital, is fantastically playful and grotesque. And the story is equal parts wry, heartfelt, and goofy; it’s the kind of fairy tale that feels modern and wise without ever winking at the audience. It’s a lovely film, and I hope audiences who might have let it pass them by will give it a second chance. <strong>Nomination:</strong> Best Animated Feature</p>
<p><strong>3.&nbsp;<em>Wild</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Don’t worry, it’s not too late to be angry that&nbsp;<em>Wild</em>&nbsp;was <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/01/15/wild_oscar_snub_reese_witherspoon_and_laura_dern_got_nominated_but_movie.html">snubbed for Best Picture</a>, or a host of other awards for which it was more than worthy. It’s easy to understand how the metanarrative surrounding the movie became about Reese Witherspoon, her personality, her “comeback,” her producing acumen. But the film is so much more than that, from Nick Hornby’s smart adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir to the exacting cinematography and intuitive editing and the vision of director Jean-Marc Vall&eacute;e.&nbsp;<strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress</p>
<p><strong>2.&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RVC3YKI/?tag=slatmaga-20"><strong><em>Boyhood</em></strong></a><strong>:</strong>&nbsp;There’s a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ca-boyhood-on-film-turan-20140803-story.html">thread of criticism</a> for&nbsp;<em>Boyhood</em>&nbsp;that it tells no story at all—that it’s merely an uneventful sequence of events that would have been given no notice without the attention-grabbing 12-year shooting schedule. But in&nbsp;<em>Boyhood</em>, form informs function. The passage of time is simply one more element that Richard Linklater gets to play with, and he does it beautifully. If the academy ends up voting for&nbsp;<em>Boyhood</em>&nbsp;to win Best Picture, it will be making one of its better decisions in recent memory. <strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing</p>
<p><strong>1.&nbsp;<em>Selma</em>:</strong>&nbsp;Ava DuVernay’s film about Martin Luther King’s fight for the Voting Rights Act was nominated for two Oscars but could, and should, have been nominated for a whole lot more. Its thoughtful take on history managed to bring a whole canvas of characters to life without relying on the usual biopic beats. Complain all you want about the expanded Best Picture category, but it managed to make room for the year’s best film, so that’s something. <strong>Nominations:&nbsp;</strong>Best Picture, Best Original Song</p>Wed, 18 Feb 2015 18:08:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/02/all_60_films_nominated_for_oscars_ranked.htmlJoe Reid2015-02-18T18:08:00ZGuess how many Best Picture nominees are actually in the bottom 10!ArtsI Watched All 60 Films Nominated for Oscars. And Ranked Them.100150218009The OscarsmoviesJoe ReidCultureboxhttp://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2015/02/all_60_films_nominated_for_oscars_ranked.htmlfalsefalsefalse1519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38302222540011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO39776947210011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO39776947210011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO39776947210011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO39776947210011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO39776947210011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO38933195510011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40666261100011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO4066626110001Photo illustration by Slate.Best of the best?Justified, Season 4http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/tv_club/features/2013/justfied_season_4/week_11/justified_decoy_recap_raylan_and_drew_have_to_stay_one_step_ahead_of_boyd.html
<p><em>In&nbsp;</em><em><strong>Slate</strong></em>’s&nbsp;<em>Justified&nbsp;</em><em>TV Club, Rachael Larimore will IM each week with a different fan of the FX drama set in Harlan County, Ky.</em><em>&nbsp;</em><em>This week she chats about “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BXBFRFS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00BXBFRFS&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=slatmaga-20">Decoy</a>” with <a href="http://nymag.com/author/joe%20reid/">Joe Reid</a></em><em>, who writes about </em>Justified<em> for <a href="http://www.vulture.com/">Vulture</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>Rachael Larimore:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Joe, you've been writing about <em>Justified</em> all season for <em>Vulture</em>. In tonight's episode, the marshals had to get Shelby/Drew Thompson safely to Lexington before Boyd could lead Theo Tonin's men to him first. A lot of stuff went down—and they even threw a few surprises our way (As when Nick Augustine exposed Johnny’s betrayal)— but no one important died, yet. What were your overall reactions to the episode? What did you think?</p>
<p><strong>Joe Reid:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Well, I'm kind of glad that nobody died. <em>Justified</em> had that body-count explosion around midseason, but ever since I have really been enjoying watching the players circle around one another and work each other out without necessarily needing to resort to permanent solutions. This episode had several real high points, but watching Boyd and Raylan figure each other out simply because they know the ways in which the other one thinks was incredibly satisfying. However, I object to the statement that &quot;no one important died&quot; when we lost my beloved Yolo. Gone too soon, handsome prince of pain!</p>
<p>&nbsp;<strong>Larimore:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Yolo! What a hilariously and appropriately annoying name. Like so many one-episode wonders on <em>Justified</em>, he will be missed. I want to talk more about him later. But first I wanted to focus on all the great odd-couple interactions in this episode. Raylan and Boyd, for sure. But also Colt and Tim, Raylan and Shelby/Drew, and even Ava and Nick Augustine (though that was really more of an odd couple <em>menage a trois</em> with Johnny). I was a little surprised at the end of the last episode that Tim didn't happen upon Colt when he chased after him, but the writers were saving it all for tonight's roadside sniper showdown. Did you love their phone conversation as much as I did? And were you surprised that Colt took out Tonin's sniper at the end?</p>
<p><strong>&nbsp;Reid:</strong><strong> </strong>I won't pretend that I have been a huge fan of Colt this season. He's been incredibly inconsistent and frustrating to watch. Which I guess is by design, since he's every bit as erratic as a drug addict who got kicked out of the service for violent behavior would be. But I've thought that too often he's been an overly convenient plot-mover. (He's probably my one major point of dissatisfaction with this season. But maybe I'm just not a Ron Eldard fan?) That said, I've been glad to have Colt around if only because of how he's brought Tim ever deeper into storylines. Tim is a gem of a character and has managed to make it to Season 4 without giving away too many of his tricks. That phone conversation was thrilling, as was watching Tim orchestrate the marshals' escape from that sniper trap. Lighting the Moltov cocktail with sparks from the jumper cables? Then tossing the bottle to Art? Such great fun. As for Colt taking out poor Mort? That's kind of just Colt Being Colt. I've stopped trying to understand it.</p>
<p><strong>Larimore:</strong>&nbsp;I think Colt's inconsistency has been a huge bug for fans and critics alike this season. I think the writers hit their stride with Colt when he finally crossed paths with Tim. And since then I've been more impressed by him. And I’m all for more screen time for Tim. The way Tim proved to Art (once and for all?) that he's not incapacitated by his PTSD was nice. As for Colt taking out Mort, I suspect that is going to have ramifications for Boyd. Do you have any thoughts about what happens now? I'm on the record as saying I can't imagine that they would kill Boyd, but it was some heavy foreshadowing when he kissed Ava and said &quot;At least I know I'm not going to die today.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>Reid: </strong>I would be very surprised if they killed Boyd, but I guess that would probably be the No. 1 reason to kill Boyd, then, wouldn't it? For the last two seasons, we've seen the show introduce two major villains—Mags and then Quarles—who you knew would most likely bite it at the end of the season. This season hasn't followed that same formula, to the show's benefit. Preacher Billy got taken out early (though I do expect Cassie to show up in the next few episodes, perhaps wielding Ellen May as a weapon). I can't see the deaths of Nicky Augustine or even dear, sweet Shelby as being the kind of blow-off that's ended the last few seasons. If the show wants another big-ticket death to close the season, I guess Boyd would be it. I just don't think the show needs to go there. I think the final two episodes, besides that aforementioned Cassie prediction, may well see Raylan and Boyd reluctantly joining forces yet again in order to keep Detroit out of Harlan. I also think, whether Shelby lives or dies, we're in for some moment of catharsis between him and Raylan. They've done quite the good job in playing Shelby as a kind of shadow of Arlo in his and Raylan's interactions these last couple episodes.</p>
<p><strong>Larimore:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;At the risk of embarrassing myself greatly with a totally crazy prediction ... I wonder if maybe it was a little <em>too</em> convenient that Boyd predicted exactly what moves Raylan would make, making me wonder if in the time that transpired between the end of the last episode and the start of this one, that somehow Boyd and Raylan joined forces to deal with the Detroit mob. I realize there are a million holes in that theory, but it would be fun (it would also explain Colt taking out Mort). But I'm glad you mentioned Shelby and Raylan. Raylan is normally pretty genial with the scum with whom he must contend. He was downright friendly with Hunter Moseley, a man who tried—let's not forget—to have him killed. But he was very curt with Shelby/Drew. It has to be more than nerves and exhaustion. I think he's struggling with the fact that Shelby—completely unlike Arlo —really does seem to have tried to become a decent person. I don't think Raylan accepts that people can change.</p>
<p><strong>Reid:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;I think that scene where Raylan almost literally drew a line on the floor separating Shelby (the criminal) from him, Rachel, and Bob (the law) was quite telling. I'm not sure if he can't accept that anyone can change, but he sure learned the hard way that Arlo never could.</p>
<p>&nbsp;<strong>Larimore:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;That was not Raylan's most subtle moment. In fact, this was not an episode for subtle. But it was finally an episode where Constable Bob had a chance to shine. I was a little disappointed with some of Bob's scenes this year—that gun fight was a little overwrought. But when it came down to it, Bob served Raylan well, took out Yolo, and even concocted the plan to get Shelby/Drew out of town ahead of Picker and Boyd (where <em>do</em> Tonin's men get their names?). I would not have predicted that the first time I saw the Gremlin pull up.</p>
<p><strong>Reid:</strong> Yeah, Bob's been a bit of a cartoon. I'm glad that he stepped up in a way that made sense. He was never going to be the Raylan-style hero, but he kind of Samwise'd his way into heroism through courage (taking that beating!) and smarts. I also wonder if the &quot;Drewbacca&quot; and &quot;Yoda&quot; references were a nod to Patton Oswalt's unofficial role as Nerd Culture Ambassador.</p>
<p><strong>Larimore:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Poor Yolo didn't stand a chance against nerd culture. Assuming that Shelby/Drew makes it to Lexington OK, we have two more episodes left with plenty of time—and maybe some characters—to kill. I suspect you might be right that Raylan and Boyd will somehow team up to take on the Detroit mob, but there is also the little matter of Johnny's betrayal. (And his completely unsurprising love for Ava. He's a Crowder man, after all.) I have to say I don't see a future role for him in Crowder Enterprises Inc. Do you have thoughts on what will go down there</p>
<p><strong>Reid:</strong> &nbsp;Gosh, Johnny's such a sad thing, isn't he? Almost two seasons fomenting rebellion against Boyd and all he has to show for it is Nicky Augustine blowing his spot because he's bored and a quiet little &quot;I love you to Ava.&quot; I don't NOT like Johnny, but if he bites it in the finale, I think I'd be OK with that. Here's what's my more pressing concern: Ava. Will Ava be OK? Will she keep tossing brandy in a-holes' faces as a means of defense, or will she go darker? Ever since the end of last season, Ava's soul has been in jeopardy, and we've seen her make more than a few decisions that have sent her down the dark path. Arranging to have Ellen May killed first on that list. I have a feeling Ava is going to have one more moment of truth before the season is out, and I think more than one life may end up in her hands. Personally, I just want her to be happy. Now that <em>Justified</em> has dangled in front of me the possibility of Boyd and Ava, happily married and running a few Dairy Queen franchises around Harlan, it's all I want.</p>
<p><strong>Larimore:</strong>&nbsp;I like drink-tossing Ava waaaaay better than I like gotta-kill-Ellen-May Ava. I'm a sucker for romance, but I do spend more time than I should worrying about whether Boyd and Ava's grandkids will be able to enjoy the trappings of a House That Peanut Buster Parfaits Built (and Boyd, gotta love him, is still looking for ways to recoup the venture capital that he lost to Limehouse).&nbsp; I'm right there with you on concern for Ava. It would be a bad move, for the reasons you describe and more, to kill Boyd. But Ava is less comfortable with the dark stuff, and she's less cool-headed. Which could mean trouble for her.</p>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:30:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/articles/arts/tv_club/features/2013/justfied_season_4/week_11/justified_decoy_recap_raylan_and_drew_have_to_stay_one_step_ahead_of_boyd.htmlRachael LarimoreJoe Reid2013-03-20T02:30:00ZWill Drew get out of Harlan alive?ArtsWill Boyd Stop Drew Thompson From Getting Out of Harlan?100130319015tvjustifiedRachael LarimoreJoe ReidTV Clubhttp://www.slate.com/articles/arts/tv_club/features/2013/justfied_season_4/week_11.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Prashant Gupta/FXRaylan, Shelby/Drew, and Rachel have to figure out how to get Shelby to Lexington without Boyd getting in the way.